GADGETWISE; A 3-D Printer for Under $2,000: What Can It Do?

By WARREN BUCKLEITNER

Published: January 26, 2012

1/24/12 | Updated to correct name of thingiverse.com.

By now you've most certainly heard about the Replicator, a $1,750 3-D printer made by the Brooklyn start-up MakerBot, due next month. If not, the significance of the Replicator is that it is the first 3-D printer to break the $2,000 barrier, with higher resolution and a lower price than MakerBot's Thing-O-Matic, which was released last year. In addition to being cheaper, the Replicator can also make bigger things, as large as a football (up to 8.9 x 5.7 x 5.9 inches).

I tried a Replicator recently at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Here's more about what the Replicator can and can't do (To see it in action, check out this video I shot of the Replicator.)

Q. What does a 3-D printer use?
A: Spools of coiled A.B.S. (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) plastic that costs about $45 each per kilogram. This is the same materials that is used to make Lego blocks. It is strong, safe and comes in many colors. One spool can make about 176 chess pieces. The printer can also work with P.L.A. (polylactic acid), a bio-plastic made from corn. (More on that here.)

Q. So is it expensive?
A: The cost seems reasonable, which is one reason there's so much excitement about this technology. Each chess piece costs roughly 25 cents, not counting the electricity. You can buy refills online, from non-MakerBot sources.

Q. How long does it take to make a plastic chess piece?
A: This is not a printer for those who need immediate gratification. Plan on 30 minutes to finish a the piece. Larger, more dense objects might take several hours. The more plastic, the more time.

Q. What happens if I trip over the power cable in the middle of a job?
A: This happened in our demo, but damage is limited to your current project. You just clean off the old plastic and start over.

Q: Do I need a computer?
A: If you want to make something original, yes. You use the open-source design package ReplicatorG software that you can download free for Mac, Windows or Linux. If you're feeling lazy, you can download or modify somebody else's idea, from thingiverse.com. Once you've made your design, save it to an SD card or USB drive and plug it into the side of the printer. You choose your projects from a menu, the printer's onboard computer takes it from there.

Q: Does the printer smell or give off fumes?
A: The melted A.B.S. plastic gives no smell that I could detect, although MakerBot recommends using the printer in a ventilated area. The plastic is nontoxic.

Q: Is it dangerous?
A: The extruders get hot but are hard to reach. The base also gets hot, but not enough to burn you. If your children use hot glue guns, you're exposing them to about the same level of risk.

Q: Any other things the public relations people don't mention?
A: Finished products can easily take an hour to print, and they look carved, so if you're looking for glasslike gleam on your custom candy bowl, you'll be disappointed. But the resolution is fine enough to make gears with meshing teeth, which is an amazing new ability.

The Replicator is an early product in an emerging area, so it's logical that a newer cheaper model will be available soon. It's also fair to imagine that if the Replicator is a commercial success, then large, well-funded competitors with names like HP or Brother can't be far behind.

The biggest challenge you'll have with the Replicator is getting one. You can order one today online at makerbot.com, but you'll have to wait six weeks until your box arrives. If only the Replicator could make itself.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.